


Bandages

by Zoya113



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: AU, But this was reaL bad tbh, F/M, injury mention, tbqh a little bit of sexual tension, that was new and uncomfortable for me lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 13:04:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19870114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zoya113/pseuds/Zoya113
Summary: Paul helps Emma look after her wound





	Bandages

**Author's Note:**

> Fjshfjsh thank u to deadgranger for not only beta reading but telling me how to make collections!!!! ((bc I’m a dumbass!)

“You can’t procrastinate getting better,” Melissa tried to argue, holding onto the bandages hopefully.  
“Listen, it’s not that,” Emma began, tensing up anxiously and shuffling back. “I know you’re supposed to change the bandages but you should be able to understand that I’m pretty scared of your medical advice considering the way you yanked that rebar right out of my leg.”   
“What else was I supposed to do!” Melissa let out a impatient groan. “Emma, you can’t wear the same bandages forever, the wound is already getting infected. I went three blocks down the street for these! C’mon Emma!”   
Emma nodded. “Yeah! I get it! But I know it’s gonna hurt like hell so you’ve got to give me a bit of breathing space here,” she kept her eyes fixed on the bandages.   
“I know Em,” Paul started loudly as he entered the room. “You don’t wanna get better we get it.”   
“It’s not that, I’m just not jumping at the chance to-“  
“You aren’t jumping at anything if your leg gets worse,” Melissa cut her off firmly. “I’ll go down the street and see if I can find anything to numb the pain, I’ll head to the pharmacy or something. I’ll be right back, Paul, don’t do anything to her,” Melissa pointed the end of her bat in Paul’s direction and swung her backpack over her shoulders before storming down the stairs.  
Emma turned her back to the alien in Paul’s body. They weren’t friends.   
“Having trouble?” He asked.  
“What does it look like?” She retorted, drumming her fingers on the office floor to distract herself from the throbbing pain in her leg.  
“I’ll change the bandages for you,” Paul offered. “I can do it fast.”   
Emma shook her head, refusing to make eye contact with Paul and shifting around as he came to sit besides her. “I think I’ll take my chances with what Melissa brings back.”   
“What could she possibly find? Local anaesthetic? I don’t think so. Give me a go, I’ll get it done.”  
“What do you care?” Emma huffed, batting Paul’s hand back as he reached for the bandages around her leg.   
“I told you, you’re no use to the Hive like this, it’s my responsibility to make sure the two of you are in peak health.”   
Emma snorted. “Uh, fuck off? Since when was that your responsibility?”  
“Just give me a go. I promise I won’t hurt you,” he looked genuine for a moment, holding his hands out but waiting for her consent.   
“Sure. Whatever. But if it even hurts a bit you have to piss off.”   
“It won’t,” Paul promised. For a moment his voice sounded almost normal- not with a hint of song or malice.   
Emma, almost stunned by this split, sudden change put up no resistance as Paul moved in closer to her.   
“Do you know what you’re doing?” She asked.  
“Promise,” he moved in slowly for the bandages and Emma shut her eyes.  
“Nope! Fuck, ouch! That’s it, your turns over.”   
“Emma I’m not even touching them,” Paul pointed out. “Just let me try.”  
“No!” She huffed, hoping Paul would move away but he didn’t. He moved in again for the bandages and the second he touched them Emma let out an involuntary, bothered hiss of pain.   
“Did that hurt?”   
“What? I’m fine. Just hurry up and- fuck!”   
“You’re leg is worse than I thought if just that hurts!” Paul exclaimed, pulling back.   
“You know what, the bandages aren’t that bad. I’m sure I can wait another week to change them, it isn’t a big deal.” Emma hovered a hand over the bandages to keep Paul’s hands away. “Just don’t touch them okay? Shit,” Emma scowled. “I said no.”   
Paul gave her a concerned look but it was wiped away by that unbreakable Hive smile. One of Paul’s hands reached out for the bandages quickly as if to take them before Emma could fight back but   
his other hand shot out and grabbed hold of his wrist, “She said no! You’re hurting her!” He shouted.   
Emma drew back, shooting Paul a shocked look. “What?”  
Paul’s hands were still interlocked with themselves, he looked to be experiencing some sort of internal turmoil and didn’t answer.   
“Hey man?”   
“Uhhh,” Paul hummed for a second, the brightness of his eyes dulling for a second. “Sorry, was I doing your bandages?” He asked, completely off track from what had just happened.   
Emma raised an eyebrow. She looked into Paul’s eyes and could catch a glimpse of something happening behind them.   
“Paul?” She asked. She wasn’t talking to the alien, but to Paul himself - the original Paul, her Paul, the one she missed so much.   
“What’s up, Emma?”   
Emma couldn’t help but let out a disgusted and disappointed. For a second there she hoped the real Paul had broken through but from the eagerness and sing-songy tune of his voice she could tell he hadn’t quite.   
“Alright, bandages time. Hold still, this is for your own good.”  
Emma held her breath, not nodding but not shaking her head either. She didn’t understand what had just happened but her heart ached, she wanted Paul back more than ever. “Just do it quickly.”  
“Hey,” Paul started quietly. “Don’t struggle. It’s for your own good.”   
“It really fucking hurts though,” she admitted.  
Paul nodded. “I know. That’s because it’s infected. I’ll fix it quickly, it’s for the best,” his voice was gentle and soothing, a glimpse of the real Paul shining through again only briefly. He brushed his fingers through her hair and tucked one of his hands into hers. “Hold on tight, this’ll only hurt a bit,” he warned.   
“Sssshh-“ Emma tried not to swear, she gripped Paul’s hand tightly between hers as he slowly started to unwrap the bandages. “Oh fuck,” she growled as she felt the dried blood on her thigh pulling at the bandages.   
“Hold still,” Paul told her again. “Almost over.”   
“Shit, shit, shit!”   
“There, all done.” Paul dumped the pile of bandages down on the floor. “But you probably don’t wanna look. This is pretty bad.”   
Emma’s thigh felt uncomfortable without the pressure of the bandages. “So what now?” She snapped. She wanted it over and done with. She shut her eyes tight to avoid looking.   
Suddenly she felt her heartbeat leap through the roof and pulled as far from Paul’s reach as she could. “Hey!” She held a protective hand over her wound.   
“What!” Paul seemed just as shocked as her.   
“How do I know you aren’t trying to infect me?”   
Paul let out a bothered groan. “Because I told you! Your leg won’t do anything for us if it’s not better! I’d have to fix it before I   
even think about infecting you,”   
he sounded unsure like he hadn’t actually thought his answer through. “Sit still, I’ll get some water to wash it. If you move it’ll hurt.”   
Emma’s eyes were shut tight but she heard Paul stand up, she listened to the perfectly timed clack of his footsteps across the floor to where Melissa kept their water bottles. He cracked a lid open and returned with the bottle and a paper towel.   
“I’ll wash it down. It might be cold but don’t squirm,” he told her as he slowly titled the water bottle.   
Emma’s instant reaction was to jerk away from the stream of water but she stayed put, grinding her teeth and balling her hands into fists, waiting for it to be over.   
“Is the water even gonna do anything!?”   
“It’s just washing it,” he tried to tell her. “We have to do that part.”  
Emma’s heart raced and her blood rushed to her face as Paul moved to spread her locked legs, washing the wound on her inner thigh.  
“Don’t waste all that water, we need it!” Emma interjected, he stopped immediately, capping up the bottle again.   
“Alright, I’m not wasting it. I’ll just dry it off.”  
He dabbed gently around the wound, inspecting it closely. “Wow, that’s gonna need some serious action.”   
She could feel him leaning back and forth to examine the wound on either side of her thigh. “We’ll take care of it somehow. I’m gonna wrap it up pretty tightly. Yell if you have to, it’ll hurt.” He reached for the new bandages Melissa had gotten and unrolled them. “You know, in the Hive you just have one collective brain,” Paul begun a story begun a story to distract Emma from the pressure on her thigh, or maybe it was to drown out the sound of her   
pained grunts.   
“I know what a Hivemind is,” Emma rolled her eyes.   
“So I’m sure there were a few doctors in there.” He wrapped the bandage around again, trying to move as quickly as he could to get it over with for her sake. “So I’m way more qualified than Melissa. Melissa was a secretary.”  
“And you were an office worker,” Emma pointed out.   
“Emphasis on ‘was.’ Melissa is still a secretary, I’m something more now. You’ll love the Hive.”  
“I’m not joining the Hive,” Emma interrupted. “My goal is sort of to take it out.”   
“We’ll see about that,” Paul threw in before Emma could say anything else. “And there we go, all done. See? All new. It’ll feel just a little bit better now. I’ll just have to find you some antibiotics I think.”  
“It feels clean again,” she admitted.   
“That’s good to hear.”  
He ran his hands through her hair gently once more like a child being given a treat after an injection.   
“What are you doing!?” Melissa had returned, cutting their conversation short. “Paul! I told you not to go near her!”  
“It’s okay!” Emma assured her, “Look!”   
Melissa squinted. “O-oh, he’s already done it.”   
Paul and Melissa exchanged somewhat territorial glances and as Melissa came to sit with Emma, Paul scurried off again without another word.   
“Here,” Melissa dropped her backpack down into her lap and reached inside, pulling back a high-end brand of wine. “I can afford this stuff now, y’know, considering everything is free if you steal,” she forced a laugh.   
“Yeah, looting’s fun.”   
Emma took a long sip from the bottle before handing it back to Melissa.   
“Why’d you let him do it?” She asked. “Let him get anywhere near a half-opened wound when he’s practically drooling with that blue shit.”   
Emma shrugged, pausing to think about it. “I thought I saw the real him for a second.”   
Melissa nodded, not prying any further. “Cheers,” she lifted the bottle lazily before putting it to her lips for a sip. “To the end of the world, I suppose.”   
“Well, it’s more like a local collapse of civilisation,” Emma bit her lip. “Right?”  
“Either or.”   
Emma snorted. “We’ll find a way off this shit island one day. At least for now I’ve got you,” Emma trailed off and Melissa picked up on it.  
“You can say Paul if you want. He’s still a team member albeit a bit of an asshole sometimes but I’m sure whatever part of him still in there is with us.”   
“Yeah, I know it.”

**Author's Note:**

> It’s a bit of a strange AU and I don’t tend to write too much for it but let me know what you think !


End file.
